Narcissus is the Trope Namer for Narcissist.
This story is about the failed romance of the cursed nymph Echo and the beautiful Narcissus.
Echo had been a very chatty girl until she was cursed by the goddess Juno. She knowingly distracted Juno with long conversation, to give Jupiter's mistresses the chance to flee. When Juno realized this she took away Echo's ability to speak other than to repeat the last words said by someone else.
Narcissus had been gorgeous since the moment he was born and was pursued by many. One day, Echo spots him in the woods and falls in love instantly. When she attempts to approach him, Narcissus rejects her immediately. Echo runs away to hide in caves, where she wallows in sadness. Here, she wastes away until all that's left of her is her voice (though she still loves Narcissus).
Echo was not the only one to be turned down by Narcissus; he scorned all of his admirers, male and female. One suitor that he had both rejected and humiliated begged the goddess Nemesis (goddess of revenge) to give Narcissus a taste of his own medicine.
Narcissus then came upon a reflecting pool to get a drink of water, and as he knelt, he saw the most beautiful person he had ever seen (his own reflection). He became transfixed in front of the pool, mesmerized by his own beauty. Narcissus had finally fallen in love- with himself.
Narcissus tries with all his might to be with his "lover." He forgoes food and rest, opting instead to stare at his reflection. Each time he moves forward for an embrace, his lover approaches too. But the moment he touches the water, his lover vanishes in ripples. He can watch the one he loves smile back at him and move his lips in silence. Distraught with love, Narcissus begins to waste away, still kneeling at the pool. Echo, pitying him, shouts back as the reflection. In the final moments before his death, he got to hear his beloved illusion "speak" to him.
In the place where he had died, a single flower appeared instead- this flower is the narcissus flower, more commonly known as a daffodil.
Tropes in "Narcissus and Echo":
- Break the Haughty: Nemesis's curse.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Both Juno's curse upon Echo and Nemesis's upon Narcissus. (But more so the former.)
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Echo, who even after being rejected and dying, wishes to give Narcissus happiness.
- Lack of Empathy: A common indicator of a Narcissist. Narcissus does not care to spare the feelings of any of his admirers.
- Narcissist: Pretty self-explanatory, as it was named for him.
- Pretty Boy: Narcissus fits this archetype to a tee. note
- Single-Target Sexuality: Narcissus, uninterested in everyone except for, well, Narcissus.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Narcissus's good looks brought him unwanted suitors, and in the end, caused his tragic death.
- Unrequited Love: Echo, to Narcissus
